How to Restrict Background Mobile Data Usage for Specific Apps on Android

Many popular Android applications—including social media networks, streaming platforms, cloud backups, and news aggregators—continue downloading content, refreshing news feeds, and fetching analytics even when you are not actively using them. If you have a limited monthly cellular data plan or are travelling internationally on expensive roaming packages, these silent background synchronisations can quickly eat through your data cap and drain your phone battery. Fortunately, Android gives you granular control to restrict background data on an app-by-app basis.

What Happens When You Restrict Background Data?

Disabling background cellular data for a specific app ensures that:

• The app cannot send or receive data over cellular networks unless you physically open it on your screen.
• The app will continue syncing normally whenever your phone connects to Wi-Fi.
• Push notifications that depend on background network refreshes might arrive slightly delayed until you reconnect to Wi-Fi or launch the app.
• Critical device apps (like Phone, Messages, and Google Play Services) remain unaffected.

Method 1: Restrict Background Data for an Individual App (Fastest)

You can adjust network permissions directly from any app’s info card:

1. Locate the app icon on your Home screen or App Drawer.
2. Tap and hold the app icon until the popup menu appears, then tap the App info icon (an “i” inside a circle).
3. Scroll down and select Mobile data & Wi-Fi (or Data usage depending on your device manufacturer).
4. Locate the toggle labelled Background data.
5. Turn the toggle Off. The app is now blocked from consuming cellular data in the background.
6. Ensure the Unrestricted data usage toggle is also turned off so the app cannot bypass Data Saver modes.

Method 2: Identify Data Hogs via Android Settings

To see which apps have consumed the most background cellular data over the last billing cycle:

1. Open the Settings app on your Android phone.
2. Tap on Network & internet (or Connections on Samsung Galaxy devices).
3. Tap on SIMs (or Mobile network) and select App data usage.
4. A ranked list of applications will appear showing total megabytes and gigabytes used.
5. Tap on any heavy data user in the list to inspect its breakdown between Foreground and Background usage.
6. If an app shows substantial background consumption, toggle off Background data right from that screen.

Bonus: Turn On System-Wide Data Saver

If you are near your monthly cellular limit, turn on Android’s master Data Saver feature under Network & internet > Data Saver. This automatically blocks background data across all non-whitelisted apps with a single tap.